Canada
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,170km²
Area
185km
Coastline
74m
Highest point
0
People
0°C
Warmest sea
August
5km
To the mainland
When to go to Wales Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (0 °C) and coolest in January (-2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada (lat 68.02, lon -86.67)
Wales Island is an island in Canada. It belongs to Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It covers 1,170 km², with 185 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 74 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 5 km away.
Getting there
- 5 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Wales Island.
- 45beaches
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 27 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 94 %0–50 m
- 6 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -25 | -26 | -21 | -12 | -4 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | -6 | -16 | -21 |
| Night low (°C) | -29 | -30 | -26 | -18 | -8 | -1 | 3 | 2 | -2 | -9 | -20 | -26 |
| Sea (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 17 | 12 | 17 | 28 | 35 | 53 | 53 | 66 | 58 | 47 | 26 | 20 |
| Wet days | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 0.4 | 4.0 | 9.3 | 13.5 | 15.2 | 13.8 | 9.7 | 6.7 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.6 | −0.8 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.7 | −1.4 | −1.1 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.6 | −1.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.7 | −1.2 | −0.8 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.7 | −1.2 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −1.1 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q540284) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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